Metal top for ironing boards



Patented Feb. 20, 1951 i @EFF Gustave Krantz, Milwaukee, Wis.,. assigner 4:to Gender, Paeschke & Frey.0o :.Milwalikee, Wis., aqcorporationof Wisconsin yiApplication:liecember ,.lClam. Al This invention ,relates .-to ,improvements ,in "."frnetaly tops V.iorlironing` boards.

,Ironing `boards ,ofthis character are, usedwith A@pads :ofV heat-insulatingmaterial :and ,if the .pads Rare notventilated from below -steam willbecon- 1densed -bythenietaltop and moisten `the padso fthatproperironing,cannot `take place. Tops remade :fof expanded.:` metal .and metal tops .with lcircular `epenings therein, havebeenl used ,inaan reiiorttosatisfactorily `ventilate'the `bottom v.of the pad AHowever,.these rmethods .either weaken the v board, necessitate `the f use .of too Vheavy metal, ori-,provide insuiiioient, ventilation.

.'.Itfis ,fanzobjeot ofsthis invention, `thereforewto provide a metal top for ironingboards Whiohris lightin `weighia,inhererdily strong, and adequately ventilated.

This object is :obtained byaforming the top from a thin sheet of metal which has depressed "from the 'surface4 thereof plurality "of lver'itilating pockets. These pockets, vbelowtheftopyhave lateral openingsawhich',*permiti,the unobstructed passage of air or steam. .Each pocket is conustructed by slitting the metal at spaced Vplaces andpressing and 'drawing' the metal between the '."sli'ts "idownwardly 'until the surface o'fthede- .pressedarea lies substantially "below the' bttorn of "the sheet ofmetal. The bottom edge of va slit in the undepressedportionfaridbthe top edge of such:` slit in the depressed portion denne anA open- Jring which is below the' topand is lateral Aofi, the pocket. ""'Ihe drawn portion of the asheet of metal denes the wall of the pocket, places the sheet under an internal stress, and also provides a short strengthening rib. By spacing the pockets in a row extending longitudinally of the top with the slits substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the row, the stiiiening action of the ribs is made effective to resist longitudinal bending of the board. This action is increased and adequate ventilation assured by providing a number of such rows spaced over the width of the board. While the pockets of each row are shown in alinement across the board, this is not essential. The pockets of one row may be staggered with respect to the pockets of other rows. The staggering will not affect the inherent tension placed in the metal top by the forming of the pockets. Although an important result of the construction of the Ventilating pockets is to reenforce and strengthen the metal top, the principal attribute is the providing of a chamber below the upper surface of the board which is ventilated through lateral openings. The surface area of each pocket is so small that in normal 9, 1947, Serial N0. 790,505

-72 ironing conditions, that;` :portion of; the, insulating ,padwwhich yoverliesthe:pocket `.willfbe depressed into pocket: onlyeaaslight,amount ,Ths'fwll l not-in. -any fa/,etyy obstructasuch r laterahopenings. 5 After l,the weightY ,of Athe., iron i has been removed from over a pocket, the portion :of the padwhch i hasbeen :depressedtherein rise. This creates a reathing i action in reach ,pocket over ,which :ironing :takes place. ,v -Someofi thesteamwandair 1,is l thi-ispiinpelled r,anclfiresh- ,ain .l; 1'-ought into the mocltet to;,positively` ventilata the board,-and; the

,The-novel ieaturesswhichfare considerednha-r- ,acteristic of l.the invention, r.are `set -`forth ,with '15 ,partcularitya initheiaplendedclam. yThe inl/Q11- tion itself, however, both as to its organization sand itsmethod ,ot opfer-atleta,tQgether..,\i/ithV yaddi- ,ltionaldebiectsg-and `advantages ,thereoff, .willjbest be understood froimthe following descriptioniof -,aspeci.nc ein-loodirnent rwhen, readin ,connection witl-i;l then-,accompanying drawings, in, which ,-,Eigal'isaview .in-side elevation of, an ironing :boald einbodyingthe,present` invention;

,-E-ig.,{2 isea slightly, ,enlargedplan` ,view-,on ,the :.,metahtop viont'he. ironingboard embodyingthe presenti-invention.;

Eig. Y,3v,is,.an., enlarged-sectional `Viewtakenn n `.thelinafi oflig.;` 1.;

rE-ig. Adsfa fragmentary sectional ,viewJ ,taken gn on thefline, lllot-,Eigapand 1 Selig,J dais, agreatly,l enlarged.` fragmentary-,iper- =`spective view. ,of one fof the, ipockets, ,comprising an element of this invention.

Referring to the drawings by reference numerals, the ironing board consists of a top, indicated generally at I0, supported on conventional foldable legs indicated generally at II. The top Ill, as indicated in Fig. 2, has the usual shape. It is formed from a thin sheet of metal and has a peripheral depending ange I2 ending in a rolled-in stiffening bead I3. Near the head end, at the intermediate section and near the foot end, there are provided laterally extending braces designated respectively I4, I5, and I5a. These braces, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, may each have several longitudinally extending strengthening ribs I. The tops of the ribs are iiush with the bottom ofthe top Il] to provide additional support. The ends of each brace are spot Welded to the llanges I2 through the medium of tangs Il or the like formed thereon to hold the braces in place and rigidly tie the unit together. As shown in Fig. 1 the leg structure I I is mounted to the braces I4 and I5, respective- Il ly, in the conventional manner.

The essential element of this invention resides in the manner in' which the thin sheet metal I8 Iproviding the top Ill is formed. The sheet I8 is provided with a multiplicity of Ventilating pockets indicated generally at I9. Each pocket is constructed by providing the metal sheet I8 with a pair of spaced slits 20 extending laterally of the board and pressing and drawing the metal between the slits downwardly until the surface 2| of the depressed area lies substantially (approximately one-eighth of an inch) below the bottom of the sheet I8. The drawn sloping portions 22 define the ends of each pocket while the bottom edge of each slit 2U in the undepressedsheet I8 and the top edge ofV the slit 20 in the depressed portion 2l define lateral Ventilating Y openings 23.

The pockets I9 are spaced in rows extending longitudinally of the top Il), such rows being respectively indicated by the numeral 24. I t has 'been found that seven such rows equally spaced with the pockets in each row spaced at substantially one inch centers provides a sufficient num- Vvber of pockets to properly ventilate the under surface of an insulating pad placed on the iron- V ing board top.

VEach of the drawn portions 22 form a short top reenforcing rib. These ribs, being in substantial longitudinal alinement and closely spaced along the length of the board, cooperate 'With the anges I2 to brace the board against deection longitudinally. In the pressing and `drawing of eachV pocket, the sheet metal top I8 'is provided with an internal stress which also ltends to tighten and thus stiffen the surface of the board.

Each pocket is substantially one-quarter inch 4wide by one-half inch long and the surface area pressing of a portion of the pad will not in any Vway obstruct the lateral openings 23. However., `the alternate depressing of a small portion of the pad into the pocket and its later withdrawal Vupon removal of the iron from over the pocket creates a breathing action in the various pockets as the iron passes over the surface of the pad. This action impels some of the steam and moist air present in the pocket and thereafter causes fresh air to be drawn into the pocket under atmospheric pressure. This action greatly increases the effective ventilation of the board and the bottom of the pad without any unnecessary weakening of the structural strength of the board or necessitating the use of unduly heavy metal sections in the top.

Although only one embodiment of the inven- ,tion is shown and described herein, it will be understood that this application is intended to cover such changes or modifications as come within the spirit of the invention or scope of the following claim.

I claim:

` A light-weight, strong and ventilated top for an ironing board, said top having a longitudinal axis longer than the transverse axis thereof and comprising a thin sheet of metal having a plurality of pairs of spaced slits therethrough, each of said slits being substantially perpendicular to said longitudinal axis, said pairs of slits being arranged in spaced parallel rows extending longitudinally of said top, a portion of the metal between said slits 'being deposed belowA the bottom of said sheet to define lateral Ventilating REFERENCES CITED The'following references are of record in th i'llerof this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,339,437 Dickelman May 11, 1920 Y2,233,735 Fay Mar. 4, 1941 p 2,291,614 Fay Aug. 4, 1942 2,335,494 Fay et al. Nov. 30,1943

. FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country K Date 743,204 France Jan. 6, 1933 

